Field of the Invention
The invention is generally in the field of medical technology and, in particular, relates to medical devices, medical apparatus and medical methods, and especially to implants, apparatuses for implantation, and implantation methods.
Description of Related Art
If screws are anchored in live bone tissue, for example of the vertebrae, the mandible, the maxilla (for dental implants) or other bone tissue, often the problem of insufficient bone stability or insufficient stability of the anchoring in the bone arises. Especially, in trabecular bone tissue, any load acting on the screw is passed over to only few trabeculae, with adverse consequences both for the load bearing capability of the screw-bone connection and for its long-time stability. This is especially severe in osteoporotic or osteopenic or otherwise weakened bone tissue.
WO2010/045751 discloses a method of anchoring an implant in hard tissue and/or hard tissue replacement material. The method includes compressing a thermoplastic augmentation element between a tool and a counter element while mechanical energy is coupled into the tool so that thermoplastic material of the augmentation element is liquefied and pressed into surrounding tissue. In this process, for compressing the augmentation element a tensile force is coupled into the tool, and the tool is pulled towards a proximal direction.
While this method is advantageous in many situations, it is restricted to situations where the tool may be introduced into a comparably large initial opening.